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Manish Sisodia tells DoE to make list of ‘unpopular schools’ allotted to kids under EWS category
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), which will be provided the list, will find out why these schools are “unpopular” among parents. The decision was taken after a large number of EWS/DG candidates did not turn up for admission last year even after they were allotted seats in private schools.
Delhi education minister and deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia has asked the directorate of education (DoE) to provide a list of private schools where parents are not willing to admit their children in entry-level classes under the economically weaker section and disadvantaged groups (EWS/DG) category.
The Delhi Commission for Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR), which will be provided the list, will find out why these schools are “unpopular” among parents.
The decision was taken after a large number of EWS/DG candidates did not turn up for admission last year even after they were allotted seats in private schools.
“The private school branch of DoE shall provide the list of schools where parents are not willing to apply and admit their children (under EWS/DG category) to the DCPCR, who shall make a study and find out the reasons while undertaking the school evaluation study,” read the minutes of the State Advisory Council meeting signed by additional director education Saroj Bala.
The council had met in January this year.
The panel had last year issued a list of 74 private schools that did not admit even a single student under the category in the last two academic sessions.
Around 13,000 EWS/DG seats in many private schools had gone vacant in 2018-19.
“After complaints from parents and DCPCR about not getting admissions, we sent our officials to schools and found that parents did not report there. It has become a pattern now. Most of these are less popular schools,” the official said.
Under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, 25% seats are to be reserved for the EWS category in entry-level classes — nursery, KG and I — in all private schools.
During the meeting, the DoE announced the launch of an online module to track the attendance of children admitted under the EWS/DG quota in private schools. The module will be made operational in two months.
“The move will help us to track if these kids are attending school regularly. We can reach out to those who are irregular,” the DoE official said.
